Introduction

Samsung started 2014 with a bang. Back in early January, the Korean company announced its new Tab PRO range of Android tablets aimed at those in need of a no-compromise Android slate, for those who just wanted the very best Android could offer. Now, we're about to take the smallest of these tablets for a spin, the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4, and to say that we're excited about it would be a huge understatement. Why is that? Well, because the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 is shaping as quite the beast. Its mid-size form factor and lightweight design makes Samsung's 8.4-inch highly portable, yet its specs sheet can easily make a geek drool. And it can already be bought for as low as $400, which is a high, yet a presumably justified price tag for such a high-end product. So without further ado, let's get this review started!

Design

Admittedly, we find nothing unique about the Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4, at least not when it comes to design. Quite the opposite – it strikes a very close visual resemblance to a number of recent Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Note 3 and the 2014-edition Galaxy Note 10.1. But you know what, we aren't complaining. After all, what's wrong with rehashing the looks of gadgets that are liked, as long as it isn't being overdone? Among the many design cues adopted by the Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 are the metal-like trim around the edge, the curvy corners, and, of course, the faux-leather finish on the otherwise plastic-made back plate with decorative stitching around the sides. The latter feature, in particular, is one we're quite fond of. It has a sophisticated look and feels nice to the touch, all the while providing plenty of friction, thus preventing accidental slip outs. All in all, even though it does not make any use of premium materials in its construction, the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 is still a solid, elegant, well-made device with a professional appearance.

If you're like us, then you'll probably find yourself using the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 primarily in portrait mode, holding the tablet from the bottom corner and operating it with your other hand. However, the slim side bezels don't leave much space for the user's thumb to rest, which could cause accidental taps near the edge of the touchscreen. Alternatively, folks with larger hands might try grasping the device entirely with a single hand, although we wouldn't recommend using the Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 like this for prolonged periods of time.

Below the screen of the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 we find a slightly raised and easy to find physical “Home” key. Next to it is a couple of capacitive buttons – one for the “Back” function and another one used for listing the recent apps. No dedicated “Menu” key is present, as that has been substituted with a button in the UI.

On the right side of the tablet are located its power and volume keys. We find them sufficiently large, well exposed, and with good tactile feedback. Something you won't find on may tablets is the Tab PRO 8.4's built-in infra-red blaster, which lets it act as an intelligent remote control.

Looking at the bottom of the slate we see a microUSB port and a pair of speakers. The placement of the latter is far from ideal for the stereo effect created is minimal, not to mention that the speakers' openings can be easily obstructed by accident when the tablet is held horizontally. The 3.5-millimeter headphone jack is positioned on the device's top and the slot for microSD cards is on its left side.

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Display

One of the very best tablet displays we've come across. Its high resolution and beautiful colors are commendable.

If there's one thing that the display on the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 lacks, that would be drawbacks. Seriously, this is one of the most beautiful tablet screens we've had the pleasure to examine in the recent past, and the extremely high pixel density is among the best things about it. Spreading a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels along 8.4 inches of real estate gives us a figure of 359 ppi, which is the highest we've seen on a tablet to date. Mind you, this has not been achieved using some unorthodox sub-pixel arrangement – traditional RGB sub-pixels are in play. Overkill, you say? Well, we don't think so, and we believe you'd agree with us once you see this gorgeous screen in person. Simply put, anything from graphics and texts to high-res images and video displayed on the Tab PRO 8.4 look outstanding.

But that's not all there is to like about it. The tablet's screen is of the Super Clear LCD variety and produces very accurate colors across the entire spectrum. There are some minor deviations from the ideal color values, as indicated by our measurements, but in reality, these are slight enough to go totally unnoticed by most users.

We didn't have any troubles using the Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 outdoors. That was mostly due to its above average brightness output of 410 nits, but the low reflectance of the screen's surface played its role as well. Furthermore, the minimum brightness of the display goes as low as 4 nits, which is great for using the device at night with the lights out, be it for checking your Twitter feed or reading a book.

The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.

The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.

20.Väliaikainen (unregistered)

To expand on Nexus4lifes response, you can quickly and easily remove the Magazine UX by installing a "launcher" (basically, an app that gives you a home screen, dock, and app drawer). Nova is a popular choice.

Tablets just grown up. Thin and light like they should be, but laptop-like functions and multitasking. Although I do miss the pen here, and I'm among those who's say what the hell, go for the 12", waiting for that review.

Best tablet Samsung ever created, congrats but it is disappointing to hear that their tablet still occasionally lags and stutters. Hopefully next time they will optimize their Magazine UX properly (or they could use more powerful intel bay trail processor) and bring us a new design for tablet.

Movies always had a stroboscopic effect cause frames get lit, go dark and roll on, 24 times a second, and you can condition yourself to see the flickering 99.9% doesn't realize.

But may I ask what's the point?

Cause the geek world effectively conditioned itself to spot the lag I can confirm NONE of my non-geek relatives recognize or care about, cause they are busy using the phone and not hunting occasional stutters that happen on every OS and every device.

I bet you can spot something ugly on your girlfriend, but should you really focus on those things?

9.X.E.R.O. (unregistered)

Well they see a problem where there isn't really one, films have stroboscopic effect yes, gadgets have input lag & occasional stutter yes, but it's only there if you spend time nitpicking instead of using the product for... you know, productivity.

6.geordie8t1 (unregistered)

Phonearena Not sure why you are saying its expensive? Its guide.price is the same $400 as apples latest ipad mini retina. The differance here though is that this has micro sd port meaning extra 64gb card for only like $40. That extra space will cost you upwards of $600 for 64gb ipad. Bear in mind also that this tablet will no dount drop to around $350 after a month or so. In my view its one of the best tablets to date, better then the competition

I had a chance to play around with a demo unit at Best Buy last night. I must say this is a well-built beast of a tablet. I think its the right size for me. Might be a birthday gift from me to me next month. Just waiting on the rumors of the Nexus 8 and refreshed Nexus 10 to see if anythng materializes with those.

Samsung used metal on the tab 7.7 but materials are overrated. It honestly made no difference at all in terms of quality feel compared to the plastic tabs. They are all well made unlike the stuff from HTC that has gaps everywhere and screens that easily allow dust in.

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